Through the Window
by MiserableFairy13
Summary: Yukiko Otonashi is the last surviving member of the massacre on the Otonashi clan of Otogakure. She is sold to Mr. Shinozaki of Konohagakure by a well-meaning maid named Yuka, and takes his name after being adopted by him. The world that she lives in is safe and rosy. However, she can't help but feel as if she's only been seeing things through a window, and not how they really are.
1. CHAPTER I: THE RAGGED GIRL

**A/N: Starting a new OC fic for Naruto. Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only own my original characters, Yukiko Shinozaki, Yuka Hirose, Masume Ichijo, Watashi Jushiro, Ami Kitsune, Hikaru Katsura, and Mr. Shinozaki**

In the beginning, it had never been like this.

She had never been put in such an outrageous and disgusting place.

A tiny child with matted hair and elegant but torn garments lay on a pallet of straw. Her eyes roamed around the strange surroundings, searching...wishing.

The room that she had been locked in was not very nice. Its filthy stone walls were lathered with dirt. The "bed" she was sleeping on was uncomfortable, poked her through the sheet, and she suspected the straw inside had not been replaced in a long time. Stalks seemed to wilt down, as if accustomed to having pressure on them.

Roughly, a short and robust girl shoved her to her feet, screeching, "You brat! Soiling this clean house! I am Yuka Hirose, and I do NOT want any damn kids in here!"

The speaker was a very healthy looking young female, wearing her choppy brunette hair up in a bun, and a maid uniform. It was clear that she had been, or currently was, someone's servant.

And the dwelling was certainly not a clean house. Actually, it could barely be called a hut. The sloppily built frame sometimes shook when there was particularly bad weather about. The only cleaning it had ever received was from the previous tenant. Unoccupied for a while, it was understandably unkempt.

The child timidly replied, "I'm sorry, Yuka-sama. I didn't mean to soil the clean house. I'll just go out..."

"Ha!" barked Yuka. "As if! You might escape to the nearest village, and then how could I deliver you to the customer?"

Her statement was quite untrue and unfounded. In no way was the child fit for manual labor, and certainly not for the grueling walk to Konohagakure.

Softening her voice, Yuka whispered, "Hey. I'm sorry. But we really need to get you to Mr. Shinozaki. There's no way that I can provide for you. I can't even get myself enough food. I'm certain, though, that you'll be better off there."

The little girl's eyes were filling with tears, threatening to spill onto the dirt ground.

Yuka uncertainly said, "Yukiko...?"

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_5 years later..._

Yukiko Otonashi had grown up quite a bit, from the time that she was 5 and Yuka was 16.

For one, Mr. Shinozaki had treated her well. Still, somehow the hunger, anguish, and fear from the month she had spent with Yuka on the run haunted her in her dreams at night time.

For two, he had actually legally adopted her. She was now Yukiko Shinozaki of Konohagakure, rather than Yukiko Otonashi of Otogakure. After all, the Otonashi clan was no more. She could not brag, or even speak, of something that did not exist.

It did no good for her to be with her old family name.

She had kept some souvenirs from her childhood, like dolls and pictures. To remember it by so she would not forget, she told herself.

She couldn't show weakness. That would go against what Yuka had wished for her.

She remembered their conversation as clear as day.

_"Yukiko!" Yuka shouted. "Do something for me."_

_Just coming back from gathering water, Yukiko paused and listened. "Yes, Yuka-sama?"_

_Smiling fondly, Yuka poked her head. "One, stop calling me that! You know who I am. And two...I don't want you to trust anyone from Konohagakure with your childhood or your family name except Mr. Shinozaki. Nobody, Yukiko. Nobody. Not anyone. It's dangerous."_

_Now, her curiosity had erupted. "Why? Yuka-sama?"_

_Sighing in irritation, Yuka had ended the conversation there, but not before making her again promise to not tell anyone._

Snapping out of her reverie, Yukiko started to hurry to the academy. She didn't want to be late. It was the day of their final exam, the one that would allow them to be genin.

She had practiced more than once, to be sure that ALL her jutsu were efficient and working. After all, it was supposed to be a surprise.

Stepping easily inside of the paper door, she stood for a moment, to gauge how many kids had already showed up.

Some kids missed class occasionally. Possibly, there were less people trying than usual.

That was a no. Everyone in the entire class but a few were already here.

Lightly brushing a strand of hair from her face, Yukiko started to walk to an open seat.

And found herself face to face with a horde of girls, all with silky locks, made-up faces, and perfect outfits.

Feeling inferior, she began to back off, until a particularly pretty blonde shouted, "State your business with Sasuke-sama!"

Taken aback, she gasped. She hadn't known that there was a miniature army in the classroom!

Seeing that as a sign of hesitation, the blonde sneered. "I, Ino Yamanaka, will defend Sasuke-sama from all impure girls!"

Suddenly, another girl that seemed to fit the mold of the other girls crossed over to them.

She had particularly silky pink locks, shining in the sunlight. Her long, pink hair was tied back with a headband. Notably, her forehead was a little...large.

"Go away, Ino-pig! Sasuke-sama's mine!"

"No chance, Sakura, you billboard brow!"

Soon, they began to brawl. And in public!

Now Yukiko was frightened. Frozen in place, she didn't notice when a panting, bruised Sakura approached her, and also asked, "What do you want with Sasuke-sama!?"

The aforementioned Sasuke-sama looked up at the two. His gaze alone seemed to turn Sakura from a hard block of diamond to a melting puddle of butter.

Instantly, she was besides herself with him, blushing like crazy.

Feeling it best not to get involved any further, she started to walk away, until Sasuke called brusquely, "You. What's your name."

It sounded more like a statement than a question, so she didn't think that she should answer.

Iruka-sensei chose that moment to make an appearance. Hastily, she sat down, taking the seat next to Sasuke after all.

Looking at him chilled her soul.

He was good-looking, after all, with black hair and dark, brooding blue eyes, but the indifferent look in them ruined it for her.

He smirked and turned away from her, but not before whispering, "Ugly."

Yukiko did not consider herself ugly.

She had light brown hair, big hazel eyes, and a well-shaped face. She was not slender, but rather skinny and malnourished, though she had enough food because of Mr. Shinozaki.

She wore a cream-colored sundress with ruffles on the bottom and tied bows on the shoulders, with white open-toe sandals. Not really a ninja outfit, but she wanted to relish the youth that she still had.

Her hands, though, were...interesting. With long, slender fingers, you'd think that they were pretty, but the skin was very delicate.

It made it hard for her to do things like sports and games that required carrying or pretty much any touch.

That was why she wore white lacy gloves. To protect them.

Turning her attention back to Iruka-sensei, she heard him say, "Okay, when I call your name, come up here and do the Clone Jutsu."

The Clone Jutsu! Her body relaxed. That was one of the easier ones. Thank goodness!

When she heard him call, "Watashi!" she tensed her body up.

At last, after what seemed like years, he called, "Yukiko!"

Striding confidently in front of the class, she performed the technique flawlessly, albeit the clone having one ear bigger than the other (her doing).

Heaving a sigh, Iruka finally called, "Naruto!"

The blonde class clown chuckled embarrassedly. "Hey, Iruka-sensei!" he said jokingly, "you think that I could take it next year?"

The class erupted in laughter, except Sakura. Standing in front of all of the students, she said mockingly, "Naruto, we all know you're useless. Go waste somebody else's time!"

Giggling like crazy, she high-fived Ino. The feud seemed to be temporarily over.

Enraged and blushing like mad since Sakura actually spoke to hims, Naruto said, "I'll show all of you! Clone Jutsu!"

Suddenly, clones began to fill up the room, all of Naruto. They looked the exact same as him, and were pretty much indistinguishable.

Impressed, there was a hushed silence in the room. Yukiko was not particularly impressed.

She knew he had it in him.

After all, that look in anyone's eyes meant business.

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"Okay, we'll be announcing our teams on this," here, Iruka-sensei held up a piece of paper, "piece of paper."

Instantly, everyone in the class rushed for the piece of paper.

The boys buzzed about how cool it would be to have a cute girl in their group.

The girls buzzed about how cool it would be to have Sasuke Uchiha in their group.

CRASH! The crowd and the jostling made it impossible for anyone to see the paper.

Sighing in irritation, Iruka-sensei projected the piece of paper on to the wall. It read:

TEAM 7:

Naruto Uzumaki

Sakura Haruno

Sasuke Uchiha

Yukiko Shinozaki

**Mentor: Kakashi Hatake**

TEAM 8:

Kiba Inuzuka

Hinata Hyuuga

Shino Aburame

**Mentor: Kurenai Yuuhi**

TEAM 10:

Ino Yamanaka

Choji Akimichi

Shikamaru Nara

**Mentor: Asuma Sarutobi**

TEAM 11:

Masume Ichijo

Watashi Jushiro

Ami Kitsune

**Mentor: Hikaru Katsura**

That was finished. However, Yukiko was surprised.

She hadn't expected to be part of Naruto or Sasuke's team.

Or Sakura's, for that matter.

Not that she minded Naruto. But who she did mind were Sasuke and Sakura.

If Sakura spent all her time flirting, how would they ever accomplish anything!?

Striding over as if he were the leader, Sasuke called, "Hey, losers."

That hit Yukiko in a sore spot. For one, she was NOT a loser! And for two, who was he to talk?

Harrumphing, she crossed her arms and simply did not utter a single word.

Of course, Sakura was instantly a blushing mess. Naruto was too, but because of Sakura.

Out loud, she said, "Why does everyone seem to like Sasuke so much...? His eyes are strange."

Sasuke's aforementioned eyes flashed at her. She thought she caught a glimpse of red in his eyes instead of the usual dark blue. She was pretty sure that THAT was the legendary Sharingan. Not fully evolved yet, though.

Apparently, it could only be activated when the user felt incredibly strong emotion. She guessed that her comment had hurt him more than she had intended it to.

Ah, well.

Sissy boy could probably stand it, what with his legion of fangirls to boost his self-esteem at any given moment.

**A/N: So, how was it? Leave a review, please! I also need some OCs for the Chunin Exams. Thanks!**


	2. CHAPTER II: HER FIRST DAY

A/N: I do not own Naruto. I only own all of my original characters.

"If today were your last...how would you live it?"

Yukiko hummed along with the song playing on the train that she was taking home. She and the rest of her team had met Kakashi after all. He had told them a bullshit story about seeing some young ducklings and letting them pass. As if that was an excuse for being 2 hours late. Sighing, she lightly rustled her bangs, so they were out of her eyes. To be honest, she needed a haircut (the strands went all the way down to her back!) if she wanted to get any training done.

After all, she distinctly remembered a few years ago when she was a little kid. Some asshole had tied her by her hair to a pole. He told the instructor that they were playing ninja, and she could get out at any time.

Mr. Shinozaki had been furious, insisting that she either cut or not wear her hair down. She had opted for the latter, because she rather enjoyed the swishing feeling of hair on her back. If she wore her hair up, that feeling was gone.

The real reason that she was growing it long...was to remember Yuka by.

Of course, Yuka was long dead. She had been downright exhausted after the struggle to get Yukiko out of the destruction and torture of the clan. Or, at least the main house. And then she was forced to gather more food for the both of them. The resulting stress and loss of energy had short-circuited her brain. Her body was currently under their favorite tree.

But Yuka's hair had been long and shiny, almost the exact same color as Yukiko's. If not for their different surnames, personalities, and traits, they could've claimed that they were related.

And they were. Yuka had been a member of the branch house, very distantly related to Yukiko in some way or other. Daughter of aunt of godson of close friend? Something like that. So really, it was like she had been growing her hair for her aunt or even her grandmother. Somebody that she cared about.

Not that it mattered right now. The key point of her life currently was to succeed in order to make both Mr. Shinozaki and her parents proud. But still, her mother would probably be turning over in her grave at her hair. When Amaya Otonashi had been alive, Yukiko's hair had been cut simply to her shoulders. Never allowed to go past.

_"A true ninja cares not for her appearance, but for the risk she takes by wearing different garments. Some are suited for light combat and easy movement; others are suited for impact but slow movement. Some shoes are good for moving swiftly, but leave the foot unprotected. Some protect, but are less swift. Do you understand, Yukiko?"_

She understood. But still. Despite the risk that long hair bore, like restricting movement in battle, it was beautiful outside of a practice. She got a lot of compliments, some ruefully patting her on the hand and saying that she was the spitting image of Amaya.

Absentmindedly, she started to braid her hair with a couple of ribbons that were on hand, not noticing that her stop was coming up until an announcement rang out.

Thanking the conductor, she got off at the train station, and started the walk home. It wasn't really that far. Mr. Shinozaki had stopped picking her up after he realized that she could practically just, in a few minutes, be in the front door.

On the trek home, she didn't realize that she had forgotten her backpack on the train.

However, somebody else did. A Uchiha.

Upon looking at the identification tag that she had meticulously sewn into the side of the bag, he smirked. _Yukiko Shinozaki, huh?_

Hinata Hyuuga was taking the same train home, and was seated a few seats away from Sasuke. After waving goodbye to Yukiko, she realized that she had forgotten her backpack.

"Hey," she said softly, addressing Sasuke, "are you going to return that to her? She needs it, you know."

Rifling through the contents, he saw their old exercise books, a few pencils, and other school-related things. All irrelevant things now that they were genin and not attending the academy anymore. Then, he got to the second pouch. He froze.

It was a torn picture, one side gone, of a smiling Yukiko with another boy who was ruffling her hair. The boy was significantly taller than she was, that was for sure, but then he caught sight of a part of the sleeve that Yukiko hadn't managed to tear off. The Uchiha symbol. There was a date on the side of the picture. It was pretty old.

_A boy that was taller than her...a Uchiha...a long time ago...one side is torn off._

The boy in the picture, or the one who used to be in the picture, was Itachi. He was absolutely sure about it, despite most of his image being absent from the shredded photograph.

Hinata gave a start at his face, blushing and asking, "Um, Uchiha-san, would you like some of this pain medicine? It helps dissolve pain. You look like you need some...and I'd appreciate it if you gave some to...Naruto-kun."

Rage started to fill Sasuke. Sure, Hinata probably understood what it was like to lose a very important family member and be isolated; she had lost her mother, and now neither her father, her sister, the elders, or even the branch house wanted anything to do with her.

But Naruto? Not that scumbug. He hadn't suffered anything like anybody else. He had no right to try to socialize or understand him. All he ever did was cause trouble, anyway. And why? For attention!

"Hn."

And with that, Hinata and Sasuke stopped talking, Hinata preferring instead to read a mystery novel whilst blushing like a tomato, and Sasuke simply stared out of the window for all of the rest of the train ride.

Hinata muttered to herself, "He's nothing like I thought he was, after all.

Sasuke never did return Yukiko's backpack, and he kept the photograph. After all, it was probably the only one still existing of Itachi. All of his he had destroyed by the red-eyed monster himself, and everyone else destroyed theirs too, not wishing to hurt the Uchiha's feelings about the massacre of a few years ago.

For a while, a cute, pink bag emblazoned with Hello Kitty and other kawaii figures that the girls in the village seemed to like sat on his shelf.

When Naruto came over to "wake him up" (read: an excuse to snoop around the Uchiha compound) the next morning, he had commented, saying, "Nice bag, Sasuke. Do you have a girlfriend yet?" He sniggered like there was no tomorrow, but thankfully didn't take any pictures.

Not that he cared much, but if Naruto had shown them to Yukiko then she'd have an even worse opinion of him. Actually, he was probably going to tell Sakura about the backpack to try and win her over. That dobe just never stopped, did he?

Continuing on the path to their training ground, he stopped when he noticed something peculiar.

His new teammates, minus Yukiko, were not at the bridge yet. Considering that Naruto came to his house, meaning that he was awake, why wasn't he there? Maybe at a ramen stand or some other waste of time. Snorting, he figured that Sakura was probably in the shower or doing her hair or something abysmally silly. Well, now he knew that nobody on his team was particularly early, especially their mentor Kakashi.

Except, there was a small brunette girl at the side of the lake, wearing a dress, legs crossed. He'd have said that she was meditating if he didn't clearly see her feeding the ducks with a few crumbs of bread. She wore a _dress _and not a shred of kunoichi clothing, not even the forehead protector - oh, wait. It was tied around her neck.

Feeding the ducks! So he had a child, a dobe, and an excessive narcissist on his team.

Fuck his life.

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There was really no reason to wake up early, but Yukiko wanted to. Since she had woken at the crack of dawn, she had the time to brush her hair and shower, and actually pick out an outfit.

The dress from yesterday had really just been something she'd thrown out of her closet. To be honest, that was all there was in there. Dresses. There were yukatas, ao dais, cheongsams, sundresses, formal dresses...and girly dresses.

The girly ones had lace, ruffles, bows, ribbons, you name it. Like the one she had worn yesterday. Her mother had insisted that she grow up wearing dresses, reminding her that despite the fact that ninja were not supposed to wear things restricting movement, she would get stronger by adapting to running, somersaulting, and twirling in weighed-down fabrics.

So, that was why. And of course Mr. Shinozaki thought she looked adorable in them. Well, the dresses didn't previously have any accompanying accessories, but now they did.

Ribbons of every color, chokers, handkerchiefs, necklaces, gloves, arm warmers, leg warmers, bracelets, stockings, anklets, shoes, hairpins, hair ties, headbands, bags, rings, earrings, brooches, and all types of assorted jewelry.

The dress she was wearing right now had been made by Amaya herself, the ruffles all hand-stitched. That was another thing about her mother. She had insisted on her learning how to sew.

But honestly, she could never be on her mother's level. For example, making this dress. It was a rather complicated pattern, if not a completely complicated pattern, one that she couldn't even hope to replicate.

The dress was a sundress to her knees, but it was brown, cream, and tan, with different shades in different parts of the dress, and intricately done flowers adorning the bottom, and trimmed lace on the edge.

Her hair was done up in two braids, but she still wore gloves, preferring NOT to bleed to death in a few hours, thanks very much.

Currently, she sat at the lakeside, feeding her ducks.

Yep, that's right. The ducks officially belonged to the Shinozaki house. They all had little name tags emblazoned with both their names and the Shinozaki family crest. The glaring one was Sissy, the preening one was Bubblegum, the out of control one was Blondie, and the normal one was Yuki.

She had named Yuki after herself, because she figured that the other ones were more fit to the members of her team. Oh, yes!

The one that wasn't there yet was named Mentor.

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Sakura rushed out of the gated compound. Just like the Uchiha had predicted, her morning was spent in the shower, rubbing an endless amount of scented shampoo and conditioner in, before letting her hair dry (blow-dryers ruined hair and caused split ends!) and rubbing in even more baby oil to make her hair gleam.

Now she smelled like a fresh flower (read: stunk like a perfume store)and her clothes smelled of soap and cleanliness (rubbing alcohol and bleach). There was no reason that Sasuke wouldn't like her today.

To her consternation, he wasn't alone. The creepy small girl sat by the lakeside, feeding ducks. What a kid! Mentally calculating, she had a loser, a kid, and two hotties on her team (her and Sasuke, duh!)

Creeping up to the aforementioned boy, she whispered, "Good morning, Sasuke-sama! Don't you think that Shinozaki's outfit is just the worst?", absolutely certain that Yukiko could not hear her.

Glaring down at her with full intensity, he whispered back, "Shut up. She can hear us."

Although she didn't see Yukiko move, she had a creepy feeling that, in fact, the little girl COULD hear them after all. Innocently, the child turned around and waved, snickering (though Sakura didn't catch that part).

Furious, Sakura turned around and crossed her arms, attempting to make her lips look pouty, but not before winking at Sasuke, giggling the whole time like a madman.

Then, she felt somebody step closer to her. Her heart raced. Was it Sasuke? Could it be...?

No! It was Naruto. Realizing that the boy had a crush on her, she had an idea. Possibly, if she got close to Naruto, then Sasuke would get jealous of him and profess his love to her!

"Hey, Naruto," she said in a syrupy-sweet voice, "can you come over here?"

Practically panting at the idea of being close to his crush, Naruto arrived in seconds, foaming at the mouth like a dog, staring at her hungrily, with a blush on his tanned skin.

Never mind. She was grossed out by the idea itself as soon as it required him coming into close proximity of her.

"Get away from me, you animal!" she screeched, her hotheadedness clearly not doing her any good. Stomping off to angrily seethe, Naruto stared at her retreating back with a forlorn expression.

Yukiko laughed, this time a real one. She hadn't had this much fun since Kumiko and Kotetsu had been alive. Still, there was absolutely no reason that she shouldn't join in.

Untying her hair from the braids, she began to form hand symbols, while at the same time drawing a circle in the sand with her foot.

Naruto, seeing this, thought that she was trying to perform a jutsu. "Everybody get back! Yukiko's jutsu is probably really dangerous! Come on, Sakura-chan! Let's hide behind this tree together."

Now, she chose to stop with the fake hand signs. Jubilantly, she called, "Naruto-kun! You can come out now! Big bad Yukiko was vanquished!"

Timidly, he crept out from behind the tree, making sure that she didn't mean to kill him, before laughing with her.

Sasuke's expression was unreadable, but what she gleaned from it was, "You're all idiots."

Was that...a hint of a smile?

Nah. Probably not. Retying her long braids, she smiled victoriously at the cowering Naruto. When he opened his eyes, he discovered something - her smile was surprisingly light and happy, unlike Sakura's, Sasuke's, or even his.

Offering her gloved hand to him, she helped pull him up - until his fingernail dug into her skin.

Surprised at her expression, he was worried. It was only a prank! It wasn't even that deep! But still, she didn't look too good...

CRASH! Yukiko fell backwards, stunned out of her mind. It had never hurt that badly before, mainly because of the gloves she wore. But the fingernail that had caused the offense. She could've sworn that it looked a little like a claw.

Before she hit the ground and smashed her head open, Sasuke swiftly caught her, balancing the petite girl on his knees. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and found herself looking at the smug ones of the Uchiha.

Understandably, Sakura instantly flew over to the two and started squawking, asking why Sasuke didn't catch her.

He scowled, and said, "Because you weren't in danger of immediate death." His eyes gave her a glare until she relented and waited for when he was approachable again, to restart her advances.

Yukiko was in a predicament: if she moved, her underwear would show, and if she didn't, she'd be stuck on Sasuke's lap. Figuring that one of them was worse than the other, she promptly closed her eyes and just continued to be there.

Sasuke was caught very off guard. He couldn't stand up now. Instead, they just stayed there like that until Kakashi arrived.

When he did, he laughed and began on another lame excuse, saying, "My grandmother wanted me to pick up the laundry!"

Suddenly, his eyes seemed focused on the girl on his lap.

"Wow, Sasuke! You're such a smooth operator. I didn't know that you were already drawing the girls to you...you must be quite the chick magnet...Yukiko sure is pretty, isn't she? And so young, too!"

He glared. "I am not a pedophile like you. I'm not sure what you're talking about." _Oh, Kakashi. __You are dying someday._

"Sure thing, boss! Anyways, new trainees, I think that today we'll..."

Kakashi's voice blended in with the lull of the nice day, and soon Yukiko was asleep for real.

Of course, being asleep, she didn't notice Sakura's eyes, full of killing intent. Or Sasuke's eyes, filled with belligerent annoyance.

Soon, however, Naruto was shaking her awake. "Hey! Yukiko! We start our task now."

She rubbed her bleary eyes, and asked, "Instructions?"

Looking down at the girl, he noticed how pale she was, and not the china-doll pale that she was. This was a sickly pallor. She looked weak.

"Um, maybe you shouldn't participate in this challenge. Kakashi-sensei said that we had to steal two bells from him. You don't really look your best at the moment, so..."

She blinked a few times. "Okay."

With that, Naruto sprinted away to inform Kakashi that she wouldn't be participating in this test.

Smiling mischieviously, she sprinted after him. There was no way in hell that she wouldn't participate. Undoing the transformation jutsu around her, she turned back to her usual shade, and suddenly she didn't seem as fragile. The problem was, her chakra reserves weren't completely full yet. Doing a backflip, she jumped up to an oak tree and decided to wait until she saw someone (or something) important or interesting.

Eyes scoped her from all around, Kabuto's doing. _An Otonashi...how strange. I thought they were all wiped out. It might be a good idea to check up on her as well as Sasuke from time to time. She looks athletic...and young...and pretty. Perhaps there will be some good from her. Oh, well. Time to get back to Orochimaru!  
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	3. CHAPTER III: THE TEST AND THE MISSION

**A/N: Starting a new OC fic for Naruto. Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only own my original characters, Yukiko Shinozaki, Yuka Hirose, Masume Ichijo, Watashi Jushiro, Ami Kitsune, Hikaru Katsura, and Mr. Shinozaki**

Sitting in the tree, Yukiko began to feel a little sleepy. Nothing had happened for a while. Naruto hadn't taken the time to fully explain to her the rules of their mentor's little game. He only told her something about bells and noon. Lifting her dress up, she got her kunai out of her leg holster, then tied her hair up with the ribbon that had kept the leg holster in place. She didn't want it getting in the way. She also took off her shoes and socks, so that she was barefoot. It was a little hard to run in Mary Janes, after all.

And she liked the feeling of not having anything on her feet. It made her feel like she was with her friends behind the compound again, splashing in the river, the mud cooling their toes.

Then, she stiffened. There was somebody behind her. From what she could assume about the person, they were male (so not Sakura) and weren't Kakashi (the height). Turning around slowly, she swiftly kicked the boy in the face.

Oh. So it was Naruto. Well, THAT was an accident. Frantically shaking him, he groaned and got to his feet, rubbing his sore nose.

"Yukiko! What was that for? S-sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you. I was just going to ask if you wanted to eat lunch early with me."

What on earth was he talking about?

"Well, Kakashi said that if somebody doesn't get a bell from him by lunchtime, they're not going to be eating. Sooo, I saw the packed lunches, and if I eat one now, then I won't be hungry later on!"

That was the most idiotic plan in the world. What if Kakashi caught him? What if he got them all in trouble because of a stupid mistake and Kakashi refused to pass them?

"Yeah, but it's the only thing I can do."

Naruto, you really are an idiot...

Sprinting off, he called back from the distance, "Is that a yes or a no?"

She hollered back, "Go ask Sakura or somebody else instead!"

Then, she too sprinted off, but in a different direction. Unbeknownst to both of the young genin, Kakashi had been watching their little exchange from the trees.

Shaking his head, he muttered, "Naruto is too much like his mother: hot-headed and without control. Meanwhile, Yukiko is much too stoic. She's neither like Amaya nor Masume. She didn't inherit her sense of humor, or his easygoing ways. But she is still better than Sasuke. Sakura still has time to grow; from what I gleaned, currently she's a snob, and unfit to be a chunin. Sasuke is just standoffish. He's the one I'd expect to charge in last, while I'm distracted from defeating all the others."

Speak of the devil. Sasuke had appeared in another tree. Catching sight of him, the boy's eyes widened, but then went back to their usual nonplussed attitude.

In yet another tree, Yukiko was crouching, so that neither of the males could see her. Looking down through the branches, she saw Sakura on the ground, shivering in fright. Looking to the right of the branches, Naruto was tied to a post. And Sasuke was in that tree, which meant that they were the only two that should be able to get a bell - if she was skilled enough.

Deciding to watch the exchange first, to get an idea of Kakashi's strength, she was shocked when Sasuke was easily defeated. Wasn't he supposed to be the one with the best scores in the class!?

Kakashi told Sasuke, "You were right. You are different than the others. But maybe that difference isn't the best. After all, they say that the one who stands out the most is the one who ends up dead." Patting his head, he turned to amble off to find Yukiko, when suddenly-

_Snip_. Somebody from a tree had thrown a kunai, which cut off the string that the bells were tied to. The bells were sent flying into a tree.

Damn it! He had no idea which tree it was in. Looking at his watch, he noted it was almost noon, two more minutes. He wouldn't have time to search for the bells and move Sasuke and Sakura to the wooden posts. Meanwhile, he knew that Yukiko, who was the only one who could've thrown the kunai, probably knew which tree the bells were in. She could recover them much faster.

His lips curved into a smile-a barely-there smile, but still an authentic one-and he said softly, "You win."

He hadn't expected that to happen. He had thought that all his trainees wouldn't think to do that, and just charge straight in - like Naruto had done.

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"Okay!" he said loudly. "3 of you did not get bells, but because Yukiko did...I'm passing you."

Gritting his teeth at the humiliation, Sasuke managed to work up enough pride to say, "What was the point of this exercise? You knew that we couldn't succeed."

Smiling and again patting him on the head, Kakashi said sternly, "The real reason I came up with this exercise was teamwork. I was hoping that you'd realize if you didn't work together, then you wouldn't succeed. Admittedly, I didn't expect Yukiko to realize that if she didn't charge in head-on like all of you had done, then she'd be able to get the bells more easily. But that's enough of that. Have lunch, all of you. Except Naruto. Anybody caught giving their lunch to him will be failed."

This sparked a loud wailing from the aforementioned blonde, complaining that Kakashi was a slave driver.

Patting him on the head, Yukiko whispered, "It's okay."

Out of her bag, she pulled homemade dango wrapped up. She pushed them off the sticks, and placed one in his mouth.

Stunned, Naruto gave her a look that said _You're going to fail! Why are you doing this?_

Out loud, she said, "This is what I made for my dinner, not my lunch."

Kakashi appeared again. "Didn't I tell you? Anybody caught giving their lunch to Naruto will be-hey, that's not in the bento."

She smirked. "Exactly. I made these dango for my dinner, which means that I'm feeding him dinner, and not lunch."

Grudgingly, he said, "Well, that certainly gets around my rule. You are definitely more clever than you appear to be."

Standing up, she said, "And just how clever do I appear to be?" Smoothing out her dress, she remembered that she had taken off her stockings and shoes.

Finally getting a chance for a comeback, he retorted, "You look like an 8-year old. And plus, you aren't even wearing any of the ninja gear except the forehead protector. And you're wearing that incorrectly."

Pulling up her dress (here, Naruto blushed like crazy. Even Sasuke had a tinge of red on his cheeks.) she showed Kakashi the leg holster, with the kunai in it. Undoing the transformation jutsu, she showed that she WAS wearing ninja sandals. And in her purse were the standard equipment.

"I see no reason," she concluded, "that you should look down on me just because I'm wearing a dress."

Kakashi dipped his head, acknowledging defeat. His face turned down, he smirked.

After all, Yukiko was the shortest of the group.

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"Come back here!" Naruto said frantically. He started to chase after the meowing cat. "Hey! You!"

To escape the human, the cat sprinted into the grove of trees, and started to climb one.

Shaking her head at the jinchuriki's antics, Sakura called, "Naruto, don't be stupid." Smirking, she turned to Sasuke, expecting him to agree with her. But he was lost deeply in thought.

Finally, Naruto reappeared in front of them, scratched and bruised, holding the resisting feline. "Why didn't you guys help out!?" Turning to Kakashi, he said, "And are you going to actually help out on any of our missions?"

He scratched his head. "Genin shouldn't need help catching a cat, if that's what you're insinuating. So I see no reason to lend a hand." He went back to reading his novel.

The four shinobi plus their mentor walked back to the house of the owner of the cat. When they got there, she said, "I was so worried! Thank you so much."

Then, she started to cuddle and squeeze the cat. His eyes seemed to say, _Cut it out already, owner! _Amusedly, Sasuke watched the cat. He had always had a soft spot for animals.

It made a lot of sense now why the cat had escaped.

The Hokage, in his office, gazing at the crystal ball, smiled. Then, he called them back to his office.

"I want a better mission than this!" exclaimed Naruto loudly. "We always do such lame stuff! Why can't we do something cool for once?"

Kakashi's eyes flashed, and he clamped a hand over the noisy kid's mouth.

Looking down at the list of missions, the Hokage said thoughtfully, "Well, let's see. There's going shopping with the wife of an important noble, there's digging up potatoes for a group of farmers outside of town, and there's babysitting a young kunoichi's daughter...but those are all D-rank. You said that you wanted something better, right? There's a C-rank available right now. Just escort a bridge builder to his home village."

As if on cue, the bridge builder entered.

Yukiko grimaced. He didn't look very good. Or very much like a bridge builder.

He wore a faded outfit, reeked of medicinal herbs and other drugs, and carried a bottle of sake with him. Sort of like Tsunade, but a guy instead and with less of a temper.

"So," he slurred, "these are the kids who are going to escort me? They don't seem very powerful, Hiruzen." Swinging his bottle, he made a gesture at Naruto. "Especially that one. He looks silly. Does he dye his hair? Is he gay?"

Naruto spluttered. "I am not gay, old man! I like girls! And I don't dye my hair! I'll kill you!"

"Now, now," said the Hokage comfortingly, "if you kill him, then there won't be any mission for you to go on, remember, Naruto? It's okay, Tazuna. They should be just fine for the task you specified."

He snorted. "If you say so. I expect that we get going soon, brats."

Sighing, Kakashi turned to Naruto and the others. "Pack the essentials only. I have a feeling that this will be a very long mission."

"Awesome!" he screamed, jumping up and down. "Our first important mission! This is going to be so much fun, Kakashi. You've never heard my long-trip music, have you? I sing very well, you know. And plus, I'm like a walking encyclopedia of songs. Do you know the Most Annoying Song in the World? Well, you're going to get to hear it soon!"

Turning, he suddenly had a forlorn expression on his face, like a kicked puppy. "But I don't know what to pack..." Then, his face brightened. "Sakura-chan! Can you help me with packing?"

The expression on her face was equivalent to what you would see if Naruto had said, "Can you come over to my house, cook me food, and spend the night with me?"

Thinking for a while, she had an idea. "Sasuke-kun, while I'm helping Naruto pack, do you want to come with me?"

Shaking his head silently, the Uchiha continued to stare out the window.

Realizing that she also had no idea what to pack, Yukiko decided to consult the library instead of Sakura or Naruto. Probably a more reliable resource in the long run, anyway.

Telling the group that she was leaving (she suspected that they just ignored her), she set off for the library.

There, she bumped into Hinata Hyuga. Greeting her with a cheerful smile, she asked where she could find the scrolls on shinobi equipment.

Hinata was startled. "Oh, you're going on a mission? Well, I recommend that you pack a spare set of clothes, some soap, a few kunai, and shurikens. Here, let me give you this pouch. Actually, we should go shopping, shouldn't we? Come on!"

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The four, Kakashi, and Tazuna regrouped at the entrance to Konoha.

"Kakashi! Kakashi! I'm humming!"

He groaned. "This will definitely be a long trip."


	4. CHAPTER IV: KIRIGAKURE

**A/N: Starting a new OC fic for Naruto. Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only own my original characters, Yukiko Shinozaki, Yuka Hirose, Masume Ichijo, Watashi Jushiro, Ami Kitsune, Hikaru Katsura, and Mr. Shinozaki**

The four of them, Kakashi, and Tazuna were currently walking to the dock where they would take a boat to Kirigakure. It was only a 15-mile walk, but already, it was feeling like days. Naruto was, true to his word, humming excessively, which irked Sasuke like nothing else besides his female teammates.

Thinking, Sakura said, "Hey, Kakashi...are there any shinobi from Kirigakure?" Thinking, Kakashi said, "I don't believe so." Turning to Tazuna to confirm it, the bridge builder nodded.

"Kakashi! You think that we could stop for some ramen later on? I hear it's good around here..." Naruto was now just rambling eagerly, trying to catch their tired sensei's attention. Currently, he was reading a book called..._Icha Icha Tactics_? Yukiko frowned. She had never heard of it before. Looked like a really bland and boring book.

The team blanched at Naruto's stupidity. "Naruto! There's a reason that we're walking. We're in the middle of nowhere! Why would there be a random ramen stand out here?" Sakura screeched, hitting him on the head with her bag. Turning to Yukiko from support, since she realized she'd get none from Sasuke, she said, "Right, Yukiko?"

The brunette blinked. "There's no need to get so worked up. Besides, I bet that Naruto packed some instant ramen. I think that Sasuke has a fire technique, and we have water. He could just make that."

Only now truly looking at her for real, Sakura and Sasuke were astonished.

She was actually in ninja garb! But not really...more like her normal dress with the actual sandals, the headband in the right place, a mint-colored scarf, an equipment pouch, and a shuriken holder on her leg. To be honest, since she was wearing a short dress to free up her legs, it was probably a bad idea for her to kick.

She smirked. "Nope. I'm wearing shorts underneath my dress...perverts." Sakura flushed a bright red, ashamed at being down to Naruto's level. Taken aback, Sasuke's eyes were basically dinner plates. _Why does she always have to be so open about these things!?_

Surprisingly, Naruto was the only one not feeling the awkward atmosphere. Probably because he was busy trying to steal a look at the book that Kakashi was reading.

Tazuna's eyes flickered from the road ahead to them. "You don't look like a real ninja, little girl. What kind of ninja wears a dress?"

This was pretty much the exact same question that had come up with Kakashi yesterday! You could practically feel the anger radiating off of Yukiko like heat.

"Well," she retorted, "what kind of bridge builder drinks sake all the time and randomly smells like medical herbs?"

He sniffed his sleeve. "I guess you're right about the medical herbs. But I do NOT drink sake all the time. Only sometimes!" He took a big drink from his bottle, pausing to wipe his lips.

_Point proven._

Cheerfully, Kakashi said, "Now, now, don't get all worked up, guys! We'll be with Tazuna until the end of the mission, so might as well learn to get along before then."

Naruto's attention was now back on them. "Heh? What did I miss? Sorry, I was busy trying to look at Kakashi's book! It really seems interesting. The cover said it was written by Jiraiya. Isn't he the Toad Sage?"

He sighed. "Yes, Naruto, he is the Toad Sage, and one of the legendary Sannin, made up of Tsunade, him, and...Orochimaru."

"Who?" said Naruto, looking interested. Admittedly, the other three were also interested, having only heard of 2 of them. "Who's Orochimaru?"

Kakashi said, "Nobody that you need to know about." Sakura thought she detected a tone of worry in their mentor's voice, before brushing it off as simply her imagination.

Rudely, Tazuna said, "Is this the gossip group or an escort group. Stop talking and let's get a move on!" He hit Naruto on the head with his sake bottle. Actually, despite being hazy, the dock was just coming into view, meaning that they were extremely close.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. _There's a puddle right there. It hasn't rained for days. Unless.._

Suddenly, a couple of shinobi appeared out of nowhere. Kakashi shouted, "Get down, guys! I'll handle this!"

The enemy ninja, whose forehead protectors stated they were from Kirigakure._  
><em>

Looking irked, Naruto said to Tazuna, "I thought that you said there were no shinobi from the Land of the Mist!"

Tazuna replied back, equally as irked, "Apparently there are! Now, are you going to defend me, or not!"

Team 7 sprang into action, or at least Kakashi did. He started to fight hand-to-hand, before he backed up into the water - and the shinobi froze him! Then, they wrapped chains around him, and his frozen body was ripped to chunks.

Sakura screeched. "Kakashi-sensei! No! What did you do to Kakashi-sensei?"

Realizing the situation at hand, Sasuke, Yukiko, and Sakura sprang into action. Naruto, however, stayed frozen. He didn't even move when a kunai hit him in the hand. It felt like they were fighting an uphill battle.

Just as they were about to be killed, Kakashi flickered back to them. "Hey, guys. I'm surprised you managed to hold your own for all of this time, but I'll finish them."

Confused, Yukiko asked, "Why would you leave us, then come back?"

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "To determine their real target. But this ends here." In a swift move, he killed all 4 of them, their bodies piling neatly on top of each other.

Once they were dead, he smiled at his team. "Good job, guys. You held down the fort...but Naruto, I'm surprised that you froze up like that."

He hung his head in shame, looking away from the rest of his group.

Then, he looked at Tazuna expectantly. "You have quite a bit of explaining to do. This was classified as a C-rank mission. By the bounds of that, our job should've been to protect you from bandits and robbers. But shinobi from a whole different place? That would be at least a B-rank, maybe even an A-rank. Why did you tell us you only needed slim protection?"

Tazuna was beginning to sweat. "Let's get to the village first, and I'll explain everything." Getting aboard the boat and making themselves comfortable, they looked at the elderly bridge builder.

He began. "Kirigakure used to be a place full of business, happiness, and hope. But Gato, a businessman, came here to try to make money off of us. We were pushed into poverty, and now the whole place is full of sadness. Gato kills everyone who opposes him, but we can't do anything, because he's the only source of revenue we have, even if we only get a tiny bit. That's why I'm building this bridge, to break his control and inspire hope in the people. He's sending assassins after me, because he doesn't want to stop profiting from this place. It's practically any businessman's dream venue. So...that's why."

Kakashi thought. "A B-rank is way out of these guys' league. And plus, that kunai that hit Naruto was poisoned. We'll need medical aid for him, to get the poison out."

Unexpectedly, Naruto stabbed the wound with a different kunai. At their incredulous looks, he explained, "To get the poison out."

Looking at Tazuna, he said, "Old man, we'll help you out if you want to inspire hope in your village. After all, the job of a shinobi is to protect their village! And I will become Hokage one day! Believe it!"

Sakura sweatdropped. "Naruto! Are you a masochist or something? If you don't stop that bleeding, then you're going to die!"

Looking down at the sizeable puddle of blood around his feet, Naruto began to scream. "Kakashi! Help me! I don't want to die so young! Save me!"

Yukiko rolled her eyes. "Just bandage it. Here-" She pulled out a roll and some disinfectant, cleaned the cut, and wrapped some bandages around his wound.

He gave her a thankful smile. "Thanks, Yukiko! You saved my life."

"Hardly. You weren't about to die, anyway. That "blood" is colored sake."

They all looked at Tazuna. He shrugged. "What? An old man's gotta do something to amuse himself, right?"

Naruto growled. "I thought that I was going to die! And I haven't even kissed Sakura-chan yet..."

Inner Sakura thought, "_Oh, he's gonna pay for this one!_"

CRASH! She had broken a perfume bottle over his head.

"Ouch! What was that for?" he complained.

Sakura smirked evilly. "Well, now you can smell like a girl, and look like one too!" She dug out a pouch of makeup. Naruto's eyes widened.

"No-don't, please, Sakura! I'll never live this one down!"

They were interrupted by cute little giggles. Astonished, they all looked to the source of the laughing.

It was Yukiko. She really looked adorable when laughing. "Aww," said Sakura, her motherly instincts coming out. Sasuke simply said, "Hn."

Naruto gasped for air, happy that he wasn't about to turn into Naruko. "Thanks, Yukiko! You saved me again!"

Sakura was too busy trying to apply makeup on Yukiko to notice Naruto again.

Sasuke was simply bored. He wasn't interested in makeup, because contrary to popular belief, he was not gay.

That kiss with Naruto was an accident.

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Once they got to the village, Tazuna said, "You're welcome to stay in my house for the extent of your village." Going up to a rather ornate and nice house, he knocked on the door.

A pretty young woman opened the door. "Father! You're here safely!" Looking at Team 7, she gasped in delight. "And you brought guests, too! Come in, all of you! Tell me about yourselves! What's Konoha like?"

They followed her into the front room. A warm fire blazed cheerfully. Opting to sit down and warm up, Yukiko kneeled in front of the fire, untying her ponytail and putting the ribbon back into her pouch.

But everyone else sat down at the table to eat. Sakura called, "Aren't you going to join us, Yukiko?"

She shook her head. "Nope, I'm warming up right now." Curling up like a cat, she took out a scroll and began to write a letter to Mr. Shinozaki. She also took out some ink and a brush. But first, she started to draw a picture of the fireplace for him, before getting a better idea.

She had never been good at capturing human emotions. However, everyone looked so happy and cheerful at the table. A knot twisted in her stomach, until she reminded herself of the task at hand.

First, she sketched a rough outline of the table and its occupants. Then, she added little details, like lines in clothes, shadows, and texture. Finally, she was ready to do the faces.

The face she liked to draw the most was Kakashi's. It flickered between happy and melancholy, as if remembering better times when he was a young genin himself.

The face she liked to draw the least was a little boy who sat next to Tazuna. His eyes were filled with flatness, as if he had given up on life.

Finishing the drawing, she was surprised when Naruto said, "That's really good, Yukiko."

She hadn't even realized that they had finished dinner. But all of her team was crowded around her, watching her draw them. To dry the ink quickly, she held it near the fireplace.

Naruto accidentally bumped her. The just-finished sketch was burned up in an instant. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Stop crying, Yukiko! I'm sorry, it was an accident! I didn't mean to push you..."

"Idiot," said somebody quietly. They glanced in the direction it had come from; surprisingly it was Sasuke. "She worked hard on that."

The tensions in the room were rising. Giving her best fake smile, Yukiko said, "It's all right, Naruto. It wasn't that good anyway. I'm going to bed."

She flounced off to the girl's room.

Now, Naruto and Sasuke were glaring at each other. "You idiot. Why are you so clumsy?"

Naruto stared back heatedly. "She said it was okay, so back off!"

He snorted. "Of course it wasn't okay! That was for her father! She wanted to make something pretty for her!"

Soon, they were arguing back and forth.

What a way to end an already stressful day.


	5. CHAPTER V: SAKURA GETS SICK

**A/N: Starting a new OC fic for Naruto. Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only own my original characters, Yukiko Shinozaki, Yuka Hirose, Masume Ichijo, Watashi Jushiro, Ami Kitsune, Hikaru Katsura, and Mr. Shinozaki**

It felt like the world was exploding in her brain. She coughed, disliking the feeling that her lungs weren't clear. Definitely not a good morning. Padding downstairs in a pair of slippers and her pajamas, she rubbed her eyes sleepily.

The rest of the team stared at her. She didn't look very well...to be honest, she looked terrible, especially considering the fact that she had been sleeping for over 12 hours. Exchanging glances with each other, they tentatively tried to approach her.

"Um, Sakura-chan, are you going to be okay?" asked Naruto worryingly. He stepped towards her, as if to somehow comfort the pinkette.

She snorted. "You guys will only get sick if you take care of me."

Kakashi spoke up from the doorframe. "If they don't, then who will?"

The gears moving in her mind, she had a brilliant idea. "I know! Yukiko can. I'm sure that she can skip the day of lessons since she's an average ninja."

Yukiko coughed from the corner. "I wouldn't say _just _average." Sakura glared.

It wasn't helping that she looked perfectly polished, since she got up early to make the effort. Her hair gleamed and had been put into pigtails, tied by black ribbons, which matched the trim on her shorts and top.

On the other hand, Sakura looked...well, how you'd expect a sick person to look, but still sort of pretty. Her eyes were rimmed with red, she was pale, and her hair was matted and generally unkempt.

She looked at her team, and said hopefully, "Is that a yes?"

At Kakashi's nod, she dragged Yukiko away with her, with surprising strength for a sick person.

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They were now in the bathroom. The tub was large, so both of them could fit in (and both of them probably needed the relaxation), but first Yukiko was doing something else.

Running the faucet in the sink, she sat Sakura in a chair, and draped her hair into the said sink, combing it and rubbing soap in. Soon, her hair was sparkly and clean. Drying it, they headed off to do a different thing.

"Um, Yukiko?" She was surprised that Sakura was going to _ask _her to do something. "Do you think that you could help me with my face."

Underneath, she grinned. The face, so often thought to be the prettiest thing about a person. Now that was about as true as Kakashi's excuses for being late, i.e. total crap.

"Sure!" she said cheerfully. Taking a towel and moistening with warm water, she gently wiped Sakura's face, which helped a lot. Her facial muscles stopped tensing at the warmth, and simply relaxed. Color was starting to return to her skin.

Now the only thing left to do was the eyes. They just needed a rest.

"Do you want to take a nap in the bathtub?" she asked. "Might help your eyes."

Sakura shrugged. "Maybe." Taking that for a yes, she unceremoniously dumped her in the tub, fully clothed.

She emerged, shaking. "Yukiko! I'm gonna get you for that!" The two ran throughout the house, dripping water, and giggling.

Tsunami laughed, and shook her head. "Young friendships."

Soon, Sakura did catch up with Yukiko. It was amazing how fast a sick person could run.

Needless to say, both did eventually end up in the bathtub.

The soaking did wonders for a person, and the steam helped out Sakura's paleness. Shifting uncomfortably, she decided to ask Yukiko an important question. "Um, Yukiko?"

"Yes?" called a voice from beneath the surface. Apparently she liked swimming a lot.

"Do you think my forehead is big?"

She popped up, gasping for air. Staring at Sakura's head for a while to determine whether it was big, she said, "No, it's fine. But I think that Yamanaka-san's hair is a little large..."

Laughing, Sakura shot back, "Your eyes are large."

And before long, they were comparing things about themselves.

And the conversation turned to the inevitable (or at least when Sakura's around).

"Hey," she said hopefully, "you think Sasuke likes me?"

That didn't need a thought. Yukiko could answer instantly, but she didn't know how to word it in a way that wouldn't hurt Sakura's feelings.

"Well," she tried, "his personality leaves much to be desired and I think he's standoffish, but I can tell that he does enjoy having us around, he just doesn't want to show it. Say Naruto, for instance. He cares about him, but he doesn't really like to be seen as a soft kind of a person, I guess. So he does like you a tiny bit in an affectionate sort of way, sort of platonic, but not really a relationship type deal."

They settled into a silent understanding, before Sakura again broke the silence, "Yukiko, why do you act so strange?"

She thought about it for a while. "Well, I want to act like all of you do, but it just feels...foreign, the way you act. You laugh all the time, and there is nothing that has ever seriously troubled you. I mean, loving a boy isn't that bad. I can't do that. I can't just throw away my cares and leave my guard down."

Her mouth was wide open. "Why not?"

Now Yukiko was just rambling. "When I was young, my parents were of the Otonashi clan, and we first lived in Konohagakure, then moved to Otogakure to take care of one of my mother's old friends. While we lived in Konoha, my mother made a mistake. She went out to a party one night, and came back the next, completely hungover. At that party, she had done...things that she'd regret when she was fully sober. The real reason we moved away to Oto is because of that mistake. The only reason I came back here was because Mom and Dad were dead. That way, they'd never know. I knew they hated here. I knew that they never wanted to return. But I did. I had made such great friends, both older and younger than me. Then, I come back, and I'm told that some of them died on missions, some of them died during the Chunin exams, and some...simply can never again become shinobi of the Hidden Leaf village. I didn't want to end up like they did, both my parents and my friends."

She finished talking and clamped a hand over her mouth, ashamed that she had revealed the very secret that her guardian had told her never to reveal.

"Sakura, can you promise me something?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Never tell anyone what I just told you."

"Sure...hang on a second, I think there's a memory loss jutsu. That way, I won't have to remember. Thank you for telling me, though. It means a lot that you trust me."

"May I perform the jutsu on you?"

"Of course."

Sakura woke up in a matter of seconds. "Hey, Yukiko! What were we talking about again?"

The girls resumed chatting, unaware that someone was watching them.

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Sasuke and Naruto were climbing trees without using their hands.

No, they weren't crazy yet.

Kakashi had been teaching them chaka control. "That's too much. Use a little less. That's too little. Use a little more. DAMN IT, NARUTO, I DIDN'T SAY USE AS MUCH CHAKRA AS POSSIBLE!"

Because the amount of chakra had made the repulsion from the tree that much stronger, Naruto was shot back into the house, through the door, and landed in front of the fireplace.

He never expected to see what he thought he saw.

"A...button? In the fireplace?"

Jabbing it with a kunai, he heard a click, and saw that a segment of wall had become a door. Without wasting any time, he scurried through, and gasped.

He could see into any room on this side like the wall in front of him was glass!

Getting mischievous, he said thoughtfully, "Now, which room are Sakura-chan and Yukiko in?" Scurrying along, he saw they were in the bathroom.

Specifically, in the bathtub. His face started to heat up, and his normal grin turned into a smirk.

"No, Naruto," he heard from behind him. Sasuke was right there. "You are not spying on them."

"But Sasuke!" he whined. "Don't you at least want to look at Sakura-chan?"

"Why would I?"

Naruto's mouth hung open. He didn't want to look at Sakura-chan in the bathtub? Was he a guy? She was the prettiest girl in the academy!

Then, he started to grin. "Oh, I see how it is. So you want to spy on Yukiko, huh?"

"I'd rather not."

He was grinning like a Cheshire Cat now. "That's not an outright denial."

Sasuke was silent.

Naruto silently pumped his fist in the air. He was winning. _Sasuke, 0. Naruto, 1._

"Dobe, if you don't shut up, then I am telling Sakura you wanted to look at her naked."

"Then I'm telling Yukiko the same thing!"

"Not very believable about me. But you, on the other hand..."

"Fine! Shutting up."

WHAP! A hand hit him on the side of the cheek. Hard. He winced, sure that it was going to leave a mark for a rubbing the sore, he squinted up at Sasuke, and asked, "What was that for?"

He smirked. "Making stupid assumptions." Patting Naruto on the hand mockingly, like a dog, he said, "Excuse me. I have to wash my hands now after touching your hair."

Naruto could only gape uselessly at the Uchiha's retreating back, before howling, "I'm going to get you, Sasuke!"

_Naruto 1, Sasuke 2._

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It was now dinner time. The succulent smell of the fried rice brought Naruto sniffing to the table.

"I...SMELL...RAMEN!" he yelled in a completely exaggerated voice. Then, he found the presence of mind to actually look at the meal, and had a face change. It was nothing resembling noodles whatsoever. Poking it with his chopsticks, he loudly asked, "Are we supposed to eat this? Doesn't look that good." Sniffing the dish, he made a strange face. "Smells icky, come to think of it." Touching it, he gagged. "Feels weird." And finally, he popped some rice into his mouth. "Yuck! This is disgusto times fifteen! Who made this!?"

Surprisingly, Tsunami looked worried. "Keep your voice down!" she whispered. "Somebody might hear you!"

And somebody did hear them.

Descending from the stairs, Yukiko looked angry. "Are you insulting my cooking? Sakura and I spent all day in the kitchen to make this!"

At the mention of his crush's name, Naruto perked up, and redid his evaluations.

"Looks great. Smells heavenly. Nice texture. Tastes wonderful!"

Also descending the stairs, Sakura smiled at him. "I'm glad you like it, Naruto-kun."

He suddenly had a worried expression. "From what I know, Sakura can't cook. How much of this did she make?"

She laughed. "Silly you! I made the salad."

The fried rice was the best part of the meal.

Poking the limp, wet, strange-smelling, and generally sagging greens on his plate, Kakashi found the courage to ask, "Sakura, how did you prepare this?"

"I'm glad you asked, sensei! First, I soaked the parsley, turnips, carrots, and lettuce in water for an hour!" Sasuke's eye twitched.

"Then, I dumped as much as salt as possible in the mixture, and stirred it up with my bare hands!" Tazuna's face looked a little green.

"Finally, I mixed in some amber-colored stuff that looked like honey but wasn't really syrupy!" Kakashi looked shocked.

"SAKURA!" he yelled. "THE AMBER STUFF, WAS IT IN A LONG BOTTLE, SORT OF LIKE THE ONE TAZUNA'S HOLDING?"

She blinked. "Yep~"

Sasuke broke it to her. "It wasn't honey at all, it was alcohol."

They looked at the youngest people sitting at the dinner table.

Inari was hiccuping, tears streaming down his face as he yelled, "Those are my vanilla ice creams! Stop it, Uncle Oreo!"

Yukiko seemed relatively calm, but was flushed and wobbly.

Tazuna was loudly guffawing.

Kakashi sighed again. "Sakura, did you follow a recipe?"

She nodded.

"Which one?"

"Oh, Yukiko pointed out to me which bottles to grab when. I think, though, that I might've added too much salt. She only said a pinch. And I might've taken the bottle left to the honey."

They all went to bed.


	6. THANKSGIVING OMAKE

**A/N: Starting a new OC fic for Naruto. Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only own my original characters, Yukiko Shinozaki, Yuka Hirose, Masume Ichijo, Watashi Jushiro, Ami Kitsune, Hikaru Katsura, and Mr. Shinozaki**

Of course, when the two woke up in the morning, they had killer hangovers. Particularly Yukiko, who Sakura had learned could NOT hold her liquor very well at all. She was in the bathroom, groaning.

"My head hurts," she called. "May I have some morphine?"

Kakashi was shocked. "That's very strong drugs. You'll feel sluggish all day if you take some." Flickering over to her in an instant, he patted her feverish head. "It's okay. You can skip practice for one day."

Thanking him, she managed to climb the stairs, before falling back down after tripping over Inari's helmet.

At the bottom of the stairs, Naruto had come down early to see if he could make his instant ramen before anyone else wanted to use the kitchen. His eyes widened at the small bundle coming down the stairs. She slammed into him, and *slip* she slipped, falling into his stomach.

Oh, god. The pain! He started to scream, wailing and howling for Kakashi to come save him from the nightmare.

By the time the rest of Team 7 got there, they found an adorable sight. Little Yukiko had curled up on his stomach, and was currently sucking her thumb. A chibi version of Sakura sulked in the corner. Not fair! And she has a hangover to boot. Chibi Sasuke and Kakashi were both blushing very slightly at the comfortable position she was in._  
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The mentor picked the moment to make a joke. "So, Naruto, you and Yukiko tied the knot yet? Ah, young love..."

Stammering, Naruto yelled, "Of course not!" from the floor. "My heart is promised to Sakura-chan!"

Great. Now she had a loser's heart. What the hell did he want from her? But then again... "He couldn't be marrying Yukiko anyways, Kakashi-sensei. She's way out of his league."

He pondered for a moment. "That's definitely true." Ruffling the sleeping girl's hair, he lifted her on his back, and carried her back upstairs. Laying her in her bed and tucking her in, he couldn't shake the warm, fuzzy feeling running down his spine. _Kind of like having a little sister._

Sasuke had stayed silent during the whole exchange. Now that Yukiko was gone, he addressed Naruto. "Dobe, you promised your heart to Sakura? Going to be a hell of a marriage..."

Naruto flushed even more. "Ah...well, ever since the day of the start of the academy, I've had my eye on her. She's one of the prettiest girls in our class, after all."

This made Sasuke think. "I wouldn't say that." Naruto frowned. "Who, then? Oh, I see how it is." Jumping up to a high windowsill, he looked down at him, and pointed. "You like Sakura-chan too, don't you!?"

Sakura, who had been sobbing in the corner unnoticed, perked up. _What if he says yes...?_

"Not particularly."

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Thanksgiving Omake!

It was Thanksgiving day. The girls and Tsunami had shut themselves in the kitchen, telling the boys to wait outside in case they needed something. All too soon, it seemed that Yukiko had run out of milk and sent them to milk the cows. Sakura, angry that Yukiko had called Sasuke and Naruto into the kitchen to get her the milk, purposely dropped her stuffing and sent the boys to get all the ingredients again.

It got so that Yukiko was forced to make half of Sakura's dishes because it took an hour for the pudding alone. Also, both the pudding and stuffing had an interesting look about them. She made a mental note not to stuff the turkey, and just let it stand alone.

However, in due time, the table was spread with a feast. There was mashed potatoes, pudding, stuffing, turkey, cranberries, a glistening ham, green beans, roasted corn on the cob, cornbread, pies, and...a salad (made by Yukiko this time) with many tomatoes.

Sasuke's inner chibi neko twitched its ears at the tomatoes. After all, they were his favorite food. Nom! Pakkun even poked his head out of Kakashi's hair for a second to have a gnaw at a turkey leg.

Leading the prayers, Yukiko soon told them it was time to say what they had been thankful for in the past year. They went around clockwise, with Naruto the first and Sasuke the last.

Naruto was (you guessed it) grateful for ramen.

Tazuna was grateful for being alive to be grateful.

Tsunami was grateful for Inari.

Inari was grateful for Team 7.

Kakashi was grateful for Icha Icha.

Sakura was grateful for Sasuke.

Pakkun was grateful for meat.

Sasuke was thankful for being alive too.

Finally, it was Yukiko's turn. She thought for a second before answering.

Yukiko was grateful for the fact that Sakura had only made two dishes and so they had a very low chance of food poisoning or possible hangovers this time around.

Sakura's forehead bulged. "Why, you-! I'll kill you!"

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Thanksgiving Play!

In the town theater, Yukiko, dressed as a Pilgrim woman, took a boy. "Okay, thank you all for coming. I want to present to you this play,_The First __Thanksgiving_, starring none other than our fine Team 7!"

Only Sakura came out and took a bow besides Yukiko, because the others were dressed in...mortifying costumes.

The lights went out, and the curtains closed, then re-opened.

It was a set designed to look like Plymouth Rock. Naruto, who was William Bradford, said, "Our people have been starving! There is no food left in all the land. What are we to do?" Dramatically, he dropped to his feet, sending a message to Sasuke informing him to tell Kakashi to come on stage now.

Kakashi came on, dressed as Squanto. Granted, he had a mask covering 7/8 of his face, but still! Pretty realistic...even the hair, unfortunately. Yukiko was a sprightly little thing, and she had managed to squirt a few bottles of black silly string into his silver locks, rubbing it through the roots as well.

It looked like a terrible dye job. Some of his tendrils were silvery because not enough silly string had been used, while other parts of his hair looked like a shoe polisher had gone through them.

Coughing awkwardly, he said to Naruto, who he was towering over, "Governor William..." damnit, he had forgotten his name! Racking his brain to all of the English names he had ever heard of from Yukiko, he improvised. "William Clinton! I would like to teach you how to hunt. Here, let me show you how to hunt turkey."

Sasuke came on stage, dressed in a bright-looking and garish turkey costume. Yukiko beamed. She had dyed the feathers electric blue, lime green, and hot pink herself. He looked just like a turkey, in her opinion.

Sasuke himself thought he looked like a walking Nike store.

Suddenly, a hypodermic needle disguised as an arrow whizzed through the air from Kakashi's crossbow, and hit Sasuke in the arm. He promptly fell down, knocked out.

Naruto, forgetting about the play, started screeching, "Kakashi-sensei! That was awesome! Teach me how to do that!"

Kakashi was sweating. "Yes, William Clinton." He looked down at the jinchuriki with a meaningful glance. He then nodded.

The two strode offstage, and the audience (mostly kids, since no reasonable adult would come to this crapsack production. Tazuna was here, which proved the point.)

It was now intermission time.

Yukiko heaved a sigh. There was a difference between a damn politician and a freaking Pilgrim! And what was wrong with Naruto? Plus, why did Sasuke look so grumpy? The costume was fine!


	7. CHAPTER VI: THE SHOPKEEPER

**A/N: Starting a new OC fic for Naruto. Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only own my original characters, Yukiko Shinozaki, Yuka Hirose, Masume Ichijo, Watashi Jushiro, Ami Kitsune, Hikaru Katsura, and Mr. Shinozaki**

Teguchi Naho frowned down at the small child, her glasses perched firmly on her cute ski-slope nose, watching her every move. As the slender, petite hand moved towards the kunai on the wall, she held her wrist in an iron grip, glaring down. One would have thought she had a grudge with shinobi by the way she acted with the young academy student.

Her movements were fluid and graceful, so she probably could've been one if given another chance at childhood. But when asked about the topic, she shied away like a horse from a harassing master.

Unsteadily, Mariko started to wobble, her balance being thrown off by the seizure of her hand. Falling on her bottom, her wide, innocent eyes followed Naho as she walked away. Unsure of what had just happened, she reached her hand out towards the kunai again, and took one.

In a flash, the grumpy shopkeeper was back. She grasped the little girl's wrist...and promptly broke the bone, which prompted her to howl in a loud way. Mercilessly, Naho pushed down on the wound, enjoying the heady feeling of power.

However, the mask-wearing ANBU had swiftly come down the street, as if knowing where the shriek had come from. Entering the store, it was no surprise of him to see the famous hot-blooded genki girl. But the sight of the adorable child tearing up and the twisted look on the lilac-haired woman's face made him realize the encounter was not normal.

Twisting her arms behind her back, he bound her with a jutsu. Because she had never gotten the chance to train, she had no idea how to break out of it. Cooly staring her in the face (though his eyes burned just for doing so), he asked her, "What was the problem with Mariko-chan?"

Grumbling, she turned to look at him. She said accusingly, "You call her by -chan, too? Well, that's my problem. All of you porcelain freaks are treating her like a little pet, calling her by a familiar honorific, paying for her sweets, babysitting her when Ruka is unavailable. You know that the real world isn't like that. She's training to be a ninja. I don't see why you're still babying her. If you don't want her to grow up to be a cold-blooded killer, then don't send her to that damned place!"

The shop bell rang. Another girl walked in, except a little taller than Mariko, and a brunette instead. She analyzed the situation. This was probably dangerous, but she really needed something. Clearing her throat, the ANBU member released Naho.

Yukiko said politely, "Good morning, Teguchi-sama. Kakashi-sensei wanted me to buy some kunai from you. He said mine were too fancy and childish. Also, Mr. Shinozaki wanted me to bring Mari-chan home."

Patting her cousin on the head, she was pleased to note that Mariko was just as chubby as she used to be. She liked the feeling that her family was safe. The student was petite just like her, and was a blonde. Her curly hair fell down to her waist. She had an adorable personality, a tsundere.

Picking up Yukiko's hand, Mariko sucked her thumb and waited for Naho's answer. Looking away, she said, "I'm out of kunai in your size. Come back tomorrow." Then, looking at the ANBU member, she said, "We'll continue this discussion when the children leave."

"Hold up a second." The shock and rage evident in the genin's voice was enough to make a lion stop in its tracks. And despite her temper, Naho was certainly not a lion. "Mari-chan's wrist...who did this to her?"

The silence in the small shinobi shop was just too much for Mariko. She tugged on her cousin's small palm, and whined, "Yuki-cat, why don't we talk about this later? Mommy said come home as soon as I got the equipment."

Turning away, the pair walked from the shop, the younger one riding on the older one's back.

Snorting and looking back at the man, Naho said, "See? Even that genin babies her. She's not cut out to be a kunoichi in any way. Why are you letting her go to this academy of yours, Keisuke?"

He shrugged. "It's nice to know that you care about Mariko-chan, even though you pretend not to. Ruka doesn't know about our relationship anyways, so it's not like you have cause to worry."

"But what about that brunette girl? What does she know? Looked pretty sneaky to me, especially with that face of hers. Can't believe Shinozaki took her in after all, can you? Heard she was some orphan brat from a different hidden village who was born out of wedlock."

She looked at him to see his reaction, only to catch his wide-open mouth. "Quick! Tell me, which hidden village did they say she was from?"

Opening her mouth and staring at the ceiling, trying to remember, she finally said, downcast, "I'm not sure." Quickly brightening up, she added, "But if you treat me to dinner, then I might remember."

"Damn it! I knew you'd find a way to manipulate me. You always do."

"So, why was the information so important you you anyways, Keisuke? You never do anything without an explicit reason. Besides, it's not like you to care about the ruffians and street trash that your brother takes in. Why so interested in this one, huh? She didn't seem special to me at all. Special in the head, maybe."

At the last words, he grew dead serious. "That's what I'm worried about. I'm pretty sure that Yukiko comes from the Otonashi clan, which originated in Konoha but later moved to Oto for some reason, I'm not exactly sure what. Their kekkei genkai is very...interesting, to say the least. And the females of the clan have an even more...interesting bloodline trait."

"What is it?" Now she practically bounced up and down, excited at having new gossip. Amused, he shook his head, patting her shoulders to try and calm her down. That was what he loved about their relationship. She was a ball of energy, while Ruka was more of a Yamato Nadeshiko, quiet and shy and housewife-ish. So when the stress of having an energetic (well, duh!) child, a silent wife, and a brother who was shaming their clan overtook him, he simply went to Naho.

She always made him feel better in instants. Currently, she was grinning wickedly. "Not doing anything tonight with your wife, are you? How about we-"

A black-haired (gee, wouldn't have guessed!) Uchiha ran into the shop, panting wildly. When he finished being tired, he straightened up his posture, and said respectfully, '"Teguchi-sama, I would like to know where Yukiko went. Kakashi-sensei sent me to find her. He said that she came here last."

Her wicked grin intensified. "Oh, you have Kakashi, huh? Tell that hot jounin that I'm free tonight, I have my cutting knives, food knives, butter knives, and animal-cut knives polished and at the ready next to my pink silk sheets which are on my cotton bed, 100%, imported from the Sand, I had an affair with the Kazekage's brother's friend, you know, I live in the center of the village, near that chocolate shop, and my phone number is..."

She was cut off by him stammering. "A-and I'm going to leave now, because this conversation is taking a very interesting turn right now." With that, he dashed off, still blushing like crazy.

"Genin," she chuckled, "easily scared. You weren't like that, though. No, you were quite the Romeo, weren't you? Always with this girl or that girl, never alone. Just _had _to be the center of attention. It's a wonder that Ruka was willing to have you."

He noticed the use of the past tense. When he had first met Naho, she was 15 when he was 10. For some reason, he had never been able to resist her charms. Some would call her a cougar and him a disgusting animal for having a relationship with a crazy psychopath, especially when Ruka was always there, but he preferred to think of it as keeping his options open.

After all, Naho was any guy's dream. With an average height but a full figure and a cute mess of lilac hair more often than not spilling out in a dangerous mess and an adorable voice to boot, she had been sought out a lot in her youth.

Which reminded him of Yukiko's kekkei genkai. "Yukiko's kekkei genkai is rather unique in that it only involves those it chooses. Whenever it feels there is someone who she feels a very strong and positive emotion towards, if she happens to make eye contact with that person, she turns them into basically her mind slave. She can't choose to deactivate it when it activates, and she has no idea when it's successful until she tries out the eye contact. Interesting, huh?"

Naho gasped. "You betcha! I want to see more of that girl in the future..."

"Oh, you will, dear. You definitely will. Shinozaki's little girl won't be staying one for very long after what we'll put her through."

"Us, together?"

"Isn't that what I said?"

"Squee! WE'LL HAVE THE BEST TIME EVER!"


	8. Chapter VII: COUSIN MEETS TEAM

**A/N: Starting a new OC fic for Naruto. Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only own my original characters, Yukiko Shinozaki, Yuka Hirose, Masume Ichijo, Watashi Jushiro, Ami Kitsune, Hikaru Katsura, and Mr. Shinozaki**

Patting her cousin on the head, Yukiko let out a sigh. "Mari-chan, you should know better than to get into these situations! Teguchi-sama can be a bit...mental...at times. Why did you go into her shop, anyway? Your aunt told me that she said go into the shop _next __door _to hers to avoid this sort of thing. I don't see why you didn't."

Looking cutely down at her and sucking her thumb, she responded, "Sorry, Yuki-cat! The window displays were interesting, so I couldn't help but go in and see what she had."

The small girl was still on her back, her broken wrist perfectly fine. A medic-nin had fixed it somehow, and warned not to use it in the next few days. Her arm was bandaged at the moment.

At least the little girl's outfit wasn't bloodstained. The white and blue sailor fuku was perfectly fine. To be honest, she wasn't wearing that mature of an outfit either. She wore a fawn-colored sundress with the ninja sandals, shuriken holster, and equipment pouch on her waist. Her forehead protector dangled around her neck, and her brunette hair was again tied back into long pigtails with ribbons.

"I'm wondering...why would she break your wrist? You're just a little kid. Maybe we should report her to the Hokage and see what he thinks. No, you're right. It's not that big of a deal anyway, but maybe you should stay away from that area of town for a while. I'll buy your stuff for you instead."

Hefting Mariko up onto her back again, she continued to travel at a snail's pace to the training spot, afraid of dropping her. "You're pretty heavy, you know. Why don't we just walk?"

Letting her down, they held hands, and started walking, suddenly going much faster than they had previously. Soon enough, though, Mariko, with her boundless energy, wanted to start skipping.

"Okay, but I might not be able to keep up!" They started to skip, enjoying the rush of wind passing their clothes and ruffling their hair, arriving at the shaded-in patch of trees near the bridge in a fit of laughter.

All her teammates were there, but Kakashi was missing. Naruto was startled at seeing the two so early. "Hey! Why did you guys wake up this early? Kakashi-sensei won't be here for hours!"

Mariko ran up to him. "Nii-san! Did you dye your hair? Are you dating my cousin? Do you have a girlfriend? Aren't you the guy who always goes to the ramen place?"

Laughing awkwardly, he scratched his head as he tried to answer all the questions in one sentence. "I'm not your nii-san," which cued a teary-eyed look from the little girl that Yukiko had clearly taught her, "okay, I am, I'm not dating Yukiko, I have no girlfriend, and yeah, I'm the guy who always goes to the ramen stand. I'm going to be Hokage someday, 'ttebayo!"

She winced cutely at his loud voice. "Hi! I'm Mariko Tsukaya, nii-san! Yuki-cat is my cousin, and she's really nice and really pretty! She makes ramen well, you know, you should have dinner with us!"

Suddenly, the mood turned serious. "You'd really have me over for dinner?" he said gravely. She nodded, pleased that he understood her. "Even if I told you I was a jinchuriki?"

"A what, now? Remember, I'm only 5! I have no earthly clue what you're talking about!" Naruto's mouth hung agape at her vocabulary. _O-only 5!? Well, I guess that Yukiko is a prodigy as well._

"Somebody who a terrible monster is sealed inside of. Would you still want me in your house?" She nodded again, pleasantly saying, "Mommy said to invite Yukiko's team over for dinner, no matter who they were!"

His heart twisted at her words. "You're just a kid...but you're already far more accepting than some adults are. You know, I never told you my name. I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

Sasuke cleared his throat. "Dobe, if you'd stop talking with Yukiko's cousin, then maybe we could get some actual work done, *cough cough*."

"Shut up, you baka Sasuke! You know I always get work done. And plus, she's nicer than you are to me."

Mariko squinted up at the Uchiha. "Hi, nii-san! Are you also Yuki-cat's teammate?"

"That depends. Who's Yuki-cat?"

"My cousin, silly!" She laughed and pointed to Yukiko, who was sitting and talking with Sakura near the side of the bridge, dangling their feet over the railings.

"If you are, then please come over for dinner with us! We're having ramen, and tomato salad."

His eye twitched. "How do you know I like either one of those dishes, little girl?"

"You reek of tomatoes, and I doubt you like ramen just because Naruto likes it so much. Are you coming, or not? If you go, then the other girl will probably go too. She looks like your girlfriend, you know, nii-san! Maybe you should treat her better."

"Sakura is most definitely not my girlfriend. And how does your mom even know us? What if we're mass murderers? Would she still invite us over?"

She blinked. "No doubt! Mommy is very famous for both her kindness and her beauty. You know, she mentioned that she thought Yukiko was a diamond right now, but in need of a little polish. If she would just wear the clothes that were picked out for her, she'd be stunning! :3"

He started sweating, which was uncharacteristic. What on earth was up with this little girl? Was she insane!? Probably, from the way that she acted, and plus she's Yukiko's cousin...

"Hey!" she shouted from the side of the bridge. "Mari-chan is not crazy at all, just a little whimsical at times. Don't talk to him, he's a closet pervert, I've seen how he looks at Sakura!"

Sasuke started to splutter. "Wh-what?"

Naruto was doubled over, laughing. "She's got you there~ Especially with how you wanted to spy on Sakura-chan in the baths!"

"Dobe, that was you."

He deflated. "Oh, right."

Kakashi decided to arrive that exact moment. "Greetings, my lovely and energetic students! I saw a lilac-haired woman assault a fellow ANBU, so I had to knock her out."

Mariko blinked. "Lilac-haired woman? She was probably Miss Teguchi. I think she's my dad's girlfriend or something."

Yukiko hopped back over to them in an instant. "What makes you say that, Mariko? Your father didn't seem like he liked her that much."

"Yeah, but you haven't seen them on good days. Usually, after dinner, he says that he's going to go visit his friends, but he really goes there. I know, because I follow him to make sure he doesn't get into trouble. They do a lot of things together, like go out to the movies, the cafes, the mall, or catching dinner together, things that he never does with Mommy anymore."

"Aren't Ruka-sama and your father still married, though? They seem like a pretty happy couple to me."

"That's because you don't live with us. Sometimes, when dad comes home unhappy because of something Miss Teguchi did or said, he throws stuff at Mommy and me, but he doesn't want to divorce her, because she's his only source of money."

Kakashi was startled. "How does a 5-year old like you know all this, anyway?"

She tapped her head. "Reasonable observational skills. I watch both my parents, and even Yuki-cat too, but she has nothing to hide in the first place, so it doesn't really come to much."

"Creepy kid," grumbled Sasuke.

"Not creepy, just talented. Hey, Mariko, are you at the top of your class in anything?"

She nodded. "Yep! Everything but taijutsu. I have no strength for that, so it's really difficult for me. I excel in other areas, like strategy, ninjutsu, and genjutsu."

"So, just like your cousin? You two look nothing alike..."

"Of course not! We're only cousins. Besides, Mr. Shinozaki doesn't look like my dad, I point out, despite the fact that they're brothers. Actually, Mr. Shinozaki looks better, I think."

"And why's that?"

"I can feel the kindness when he smiles at me. It's always genuine. But with my dad, he just smiles at me to get it out of the way for the rest of the day. Plus, he makes real good pancakes."

"Well, those are good reasons, I suppose. Maybe...today, we'll watch people like Mariko has been doing. Come on, guys! To the center of town."

Sasuke started blushing yet again. "Oh...right...that creepy shopkeeper told me to tell you, and I quote this word for word,

'Oh, you have Kakashi, huh? Tell that hot jounin that I'm free tonight, I have my cutting knives, food knives, butter knives, and animal-cut knives polished and at the ready next to my pink silk sheets which are on my cotton bed, 100%, imported from the Sand, I had an affair with the Kazekage's brother's friend, you know, I live in the center of the village, near that chocolate shop, and my phone number is...'"

Needless to say, Kakashi was indeed surprised. "Well, Naho has always been totally crazy. And I am not going to her apartment, I might end up dead the next morning. Let's go." Looking down at Mariko, he added, "You too." He picked her up and carried her on his back.

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"Damn it, Sasuke! You duck-butt hair is in the way of my binoculars. Can't you move it, or cut it, at least? Nobody wants to see that the first thing in the morning."

"Shut up, dobe. You reek of old instant ramen and cup noodles. Go sit in a different bush."

"Sasuke-kun! Can I sit in Naruto's old bush, then?"

"Since when was this a conversation about sitting in that particular bush?"

Kakashi groaned. "You're all idiots. Except Mariko. She's cool."

Mariko had noticed a perfect area for him to set a trap for Might Gai and his team (but preferably just Might Gai). It was the entrance to the training grounds, and a tripwire suspended a bucket of boiling water. There was a jutsu over the trap which hid it.

Yukiko gave a snort from the trees. "That's mean, Kakashi. Oh! Might Gai approaching, in the mile radius."

"Thanks, Yukiko. Now let me just watch this and all of you shut up so I can hear his reaction."

Sure enough, the unsuspecting green-spandex-wearing jounin stumbled into the trap. "AAHH! MY ETERNAL RIVAL THE COPY NINJA KAKASHI AND HIS EVIL CRONIES MUST HAVE SET THIS TRAP FOR ME! LEE, WITH THE POWER OF YOUR YOUTHFULNESS, GO AND SEEK THEM OUT!"

"SURE THING, GAI-SENSEI! TOGETHER, WE KNOW NO BOUNDS! LET US UTILISE OUR YOUTH! AND DO MULTIPLE PUSH-UPS WHILE SCREAMING ABOUT BIZARRE THINGS!"

Mariko smiled. "Might Gai sure is very loud."

"Yep. Reminiscent of Naruto, isn't he?"

"HEY! SINCE WHEN DO I GO AROUND SHOUTING ABOUT SHITTY YOUTHFULNESS?"

An orange hit him in the side of the head. "Language, Naruto!"

"Uh, yeah! I'm sorry, Yukiko, but Kakashi's comment was way too much out of hand! I am nothing like those two weirdos!"

In a flash, Lee appeared in front of them. "GAI-SENSEI! I FOUND THE EVIL CRONIES!"

Then, he caught sight of both Sakura and Yukiko. All it took was a bat of eyelashes from Sakura, and he fell down, with a nosebleed.

"Sasuke-kun! I protected you! Did I mention I have a technique called the Sakura-Sakura Technique where I..."

Yukiko sighed. "Mari-chan, we're going home early."

"Okie dokie, Yuki-cat! Will you make me some more bunny apples when we get there?"

"Sure."

With that, the two left for the Etsuya compound.

Kakashi scratched his head. "Why did they want to leave so badly?"

**A/N: Bonus points to anyone who thinks that Mariko's nickname is familiar! Leave a review, and I will take suggestions.**


	9. CHAPTER VIII: A LITTLE TIME TWISTING

**A/N: Starting a new OC fic for Naruto. Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only own my original characters, Yukiko Shinozaki, Yuka Hirose, Masume Ichijo, Watashi Jushiro, Ami Kitsune, Hikaru Katsura, and Mr. Shinozaki**

Naho was twitching restlessly on the large bed in the Tsukaya compound, reading a book. Keisuke was there, too. When her twitching got so incessant that it started to shake the bed, he rolled his eyes and scratched behind her ears, like a cat. She purred contentedly, in that moment almost looking sweet and innocent.

But that image of her quickly faded, as the wicked gleam in her eyes revealed her true intentions. Jumping onto his lap, she snuggled down for a nap. Halfheartedly swatting her, he affectionately stroked her hair, enjoying the silky strands running through his fingers. Naho reminded him of the pink-haired Haruno in more ways than one. Her hair was always clean, velvety, and shiny. And she had a bright, unusual color of hair - lilac, or lavender, he could never decide which. Pausing his ministrations for a few seconds, he stretched his aching muscles.

"You have a weird way of doing that," she meow'ed. "I think that you should perhaps use that energy on something else, like ruffling my hair?" Getting the hint, he returned to the comforting task. The window was closed, but the moonlight bled through the rice paper and onto the soft carpeting. The lamp was on, and cast a warm glow over the room.

The two were wrapped tightly in blankets, as the weather was getting colder. So were other people. When the season turned, not as many came and went over to visit because food got scarcer. Not too scarce, but the Akimichi clan no longer threw its famous banquet parties when snow covered the whole world in Konoha.

Of course, he hated snow. He lived in the Leaf, for goodness' sake, how could you expect him to like what killed the beautiful green? His brother, though, had always loved it. Shinozaki had always done weird things, like adopt the little Otonashi brat.

Her kekkei genkai was interesting, to say the least. There wasn't a way to say that she wouldn't be an asset to the village in the future. He sometimes wished he had his brother's wisdom. His choices seemed stupid at the moment, but always came to frustration.

The cat below him hissed. She screeched, "Hey! Come on, let's get going with the hair. I have to figure out why it's so tangled today...meow."

And that was another thing he had forgotten to mention to his dear wife. Naho sometimes turned into a cat when the need struck her, like when she felt like being stroked and didn't want it to feel weird.

It was quite amazing, and was actually a bloodline limit, meaning it wasn't something that could be copied. Using her disguise, she could gather a ton of intel...if she wasn't a fucking lavender cat!

Since when were cats bright colors? Hell, since when were cats purple? Never. So when she _did _get her lazy ass off the ground and become a cat, he had to dye her fur, a tedious and back-breaking job that he detested.

It was insulting when a woman who came last in her class could become a member of ANBU sooner than he could. Many thought that Teguchi Naho was not a ninja. Many were wrong.

She was certainly one of their finest kunoichi...because she was unknown. She blended in with the rest of the civvies. There was no reason anyone would suspect her of murder. Crazy, yes, but not suicidal.

That was the thing about her. She was beautiful, dangerous, and highly volatile.

Basically, the exact opposite of Ruka. His wife was beautiful, harmless, predictable, and highly dull. She never went out on missions anymore. Her only training had been becoming a chunin (she hadn't even decided to shoot for jounin rank!)

His daughter was right on the money. The only reason that he had married the blonde beauty was for her heritage, her considerable fortune, and for her looks. He had been hoping their children would inherit her appearance, and preferably not his.

And love, unfortunately. Yes, he could remember a time where she had been the apple of his eye. The center of attention, she had always attracted males like Naho attracted trouble.

She had also been the bottom of their class, but he was too much head over heels to remember that important little detail that everyone else seemed to forget.

Thank goodness little Mariko had inherited the best of both worlds. She was a beauty to behold, and her wits were sharper than a kunai. She wasn't even nearly as good as her slightly older cousin (Yukiko was only older by a year), but that was to be expected anyway. Otonashi could train like they weren't even tired, for hours on end.

Another trait that his niece so infuriatingly had. The gift of patience. And raw talent, which his own daughter didn't seem to have any of. Sometimes, he wanted a different family.

But sometimes, he could remember the reason that he had married so young.

Naho purred for the penultimate time, already fast asleep in her spot.


	10. CHAPTER IX: THE ISHIKAWA

**A/N: Starting a new OC fic for Naruto. Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only own my original characters, Yukiko Shinozaki, Yuka Hirose, Masume Ichijo, Watashi Jushiro, Ami Kitsune, Hikaru Katsura, and Mr. Shinozaki**

The world was suddenly alive in a burst of color, smell, and sound. It was only to be expected that Konohagakure had a Winter Festival; any excuse for drinking, partying, and general un-shinobi-like behavior was accepted in the Leaf Village. Especially when the excuse was actually a valid one.

This year, she would be going alone. Every single year after Mr. Shinozaki had adopted her, they had gone with her cousin's family. This winter, though, her adoptive father and relatives were all busy.

It was no matter. She just thought that perhaps her father would remember the little detail on the profile that he had been given when she was adopted. That back in Otogakure, there was a Yukiko Festival for all children when the lake froze over.

Orochimaru had come to one, watching in fascination at the giddy, red-cheeked kids skidding and sliding all over the ice. He had been interested that children could be given such an incentive to work harder, as parents chronicled telling their children for months that if they didn't meet expectations they couldn't go to the celebration.

He had later used the information to convince his army of children soldiers to raze her parents' house to the ground, without her in it, thank goodness. As the flames flickered, the light cast over the scorched earth, she had thought bitterly of that festival.

Later on, when she had struck out on her own for a while, she had caught one such experiment and interrogated him. The boy, who she had named Yukito (after herself), had shivered in fright before revealing that he had no useful information to give her. So she had simply asked him about the good and bad times, learning that the higher your rank, the more luxuries you got, and the Sannin had often used different things to bribe them with, things that would only appeal to children, such as a temporary chance to go outside for as long as they wished, and an extra supply of food for a while.

Silly boy. He hadn't realized that the chances to go outside were basically to gauge the captives' ability to escape and use fighting tactics. Any that escaped would gladly be given up. There was no reason to train those who weren't willing. They didn't work quite as well as those who cared about their training.

Admittedly, she had called in a few favors and pulled a few strings here and there to get him a nice civilian family to live with and a new assumed identity, Yukito Hitomi. True to his word, he was now a model citizen, and cared only about staying somewhere where his former mentor could not touch him.

Already there were spies in the village, where nobody would expect. She had done research, staying up late at night reading about the snake man as bait, and she had felt eyes on herself. She knew she was being watched.

No doubt the spies were going to be taking the Chunin Exams. What better way to gauge the skills of different shinobis and potential captives, than to witness them firsthand?

But that wasn't important for now. She needed to have a good time. The week's stresses had taken their toll on her, and she looked none the better by the time the weekend rolled around.

There was no time to rest when Naruto was around, then again. Her mother had named her Yukiko, snow child, because she had said that she reminded her of a snowman, with the chubby cheeks and emotionless face. Lately, though, she had been opening up more to people.

That could be a good thing _and _a bad thing. She would never know. Shaking off the icky thoughts, she started to get dressed for the festival. Thank goodness that she had a lot of dresses and hair ornaments. There was bound to be something suitable in her large closet.

Great. She had already sorted through racks and racks of clothing. The yukatas were all either too dressy or too casual. The only one she could find that was perfect was a dark blue, with gold-orange designs adoring the bottom, and a purple obi. The matching accessories were nowhere to be found, meaning she'd just have to mix and match.

She hated unpredictability. There was no way of telling what would happen next. Actually, that would be a good word to describe her new team. They never knew what would happen next.

Patting herself down to make sure the outfit was smooth, she gazed at herself in the mirror, and winced. It was funny how she resembled her mother so much. There was not an aspect of her father in her appearance, except for one thing that she would never tell about.

Her birthmark, which was a small pinkish affair, was in the shape of a penguin. And it was in an...interesting spot. Sakura could attest to that, as she had accidentally seen in during their bath.

Picking up her parasol, she called as she walked out the front door, "Father, I'm going to the festival now!"

He called after her, "Don't forget your money!" Clutching a purse she was wearing, she nodded. She had enough money in there to practically buy the whole festival. Mr. Shinozaki was surprisingly adept at business transactions, and had happened to amass a considerable fortune during his youth years...which he used to spoil his daughter.

Also in her purse were kunai and chains, shurikens, and ninja wire. She had dropped the leg holder, preferring not to wear it. Instead, the small weapon was concealed inside her obi.

Drifting about the grounds looking for her friends, she spotted Konohamaru and his friends. The little boy had befriended her as well, deciding to call her nii-chan. Despite the fact that she wasn't his older sister, she acted like it, scolding him and washing his face when he got into trouble.

He saw her, and ran to her, expecting a hug. She gave him one, her small body winded by the energy, though. She smiled down at him adoringly. He grinned up at her happily.

"Nii-chan! We saw this awesome game, and we wanted to know if you would give it a try."

"Um, sure, Kono-chan. Where is it? And how much does it cost?"

"Well, it's just over there. And not a lot, only...actually, I have no idea!" He dragged her towards the stand. She paled when she saw it. The vendor grinned evilly.

Yes, the stand was run by none other than Teguchi Naho. Her lover Keisuke Tsukaya seemed to be in there as well. Why that old man wasn't faithful to his wife, she would never know.

She looked at the label above the stand. It was a genjutsu, and what it seemed to say was, "FREE! Cotton Candy." What it really said was, "FREE! Kissing Booth."

Then she looked back at the children. "Guys, did you try this stand yet?" They blinked at her, and responded, "No, nii-chan."

Well, that was certainly good. At least they hadn't gotten kissed by the devil herself. "Why don't we go and get some ice cream mochi, then play games later."

"Okay, nii-chan." They followed her obediently, out of the ring. Snorting, she sent a warning glace to the wayward storekeeper. In response, the purple-head stuck her tongue out playfully, crossing her eyes in an imitation of the young girl.

Shepherding the kids away from the stand, she closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of bliss when the lids were no longer opened. "That was certainly a very close one."

"Yep, 'ttebayo! Thank goodness me and Yukiko came along just in time to save these kiddos, ne, Sakura-chan, Hinata?" He winked at the two, stupid grin already at place.

Hinata blushed at the lack of the honorific on her name. "I've only talked to him for a short time, yet Naruto treats me as if I am a close friend. He really is a nice boy."

Oblivious to the girl's musings, he scratched his head as Yukiko berated him. "Naruto, everyone knows that it's 'Yukiko and I', not 'me and Yukiko.' Grammar, please?" His whiskered cheeks became a bright red, as if he was a ripe tomato. She pinched his cheeks. He squirmed, obviously highly ticklish.

His muffled voice came out of his deflated, chibi-like mouth. "Hey, Yukiko, c'mon! Release me! Help me, Sakura-chan, Hinata, Konohamaru! Please! Don't leave me alone with this devil woman!"

At his mention of a devil woman, she promptly released his cheeks, her eyes downcast. He didn't notice the change that had come over her, and smirked, thinking he had been successful in getting his freedom.

The soft voice came unexpectedly. "Do you really think I'm a devil woman?" He looked at her eyes...he had never seen them so intense, and so pleading. In that moment, she was fragile, breakable. It all depended on his answer.

So he told the truth. "No, I don't think you're a devil woman. It's just that sometimes you're a little too energetic for my taste, and so I get a little mean. I'm sorry, I didn't want to offend you."

He thought he detected a hint of dark, bloody red in those hazy pools of brown. But he shrugged it off as his imagination.

Something had awakened in her, and it wasn't going to be very pleasant for anyone. Or go down without a fight. Faltering, he made his steps shorter so he could catch the brunette on the shoulder to give her a good pep talk.

"Listen, Yukiko, I didn't mean what I said. You're not a devil, and you're certainly not evil. You are one of the nicest, most deserving people I have ever met. If anybody tells you otherwise, they're lying."

"I came to this village to be accepted, to find a new way of life. I didn't come to be insulted and knocked back at every turn. Do you know how hard it was, leaving Otogakure? Despite the fact that it wasn't the best place, it was my home. I belonged there. It's difficult leaving everything behind for a place you know nothing about. All that I knew about Konoha was from the childhood memories that I was able to recall, which weren't many."

"I know how you feel! That's what happened to me..."

"No, it wasn't. You never truly had a home in Konoha up until now, when we befriended you. It was just a place, to you. You didn't care about it. You only realize what would have happened if you really did run away when you realized how wonderful and how terrible somewhere can really be. Don't you get it? You didn't suffer all of your life. Because you made your suffering into something else. Happiness. And for that, Naruto, I thank you. You've taught me how to be happy."

That was the most words she had said to any of them at all. Breaking down into tears, he moved to hug her. They stayed like that, in an awkward embrace, for a while, until she finally moved and dried her face.

"The others are probably missing us."

"You're right. Thanks, Yukiko. It was your strength, not mine. You found the courage to open up to me."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Kakashi stood in the shadows, watching the festival. There had been no reason for him to attend publicly, as he had nobody to go with, and nothing to do. Instead, he preferred to watch his wayward students. There was a flash, and a woman appeared behind him.

"They care for you, you know. All of them, even the grumpy one. They know that you know that they care. That's why they try so hard to train. They want you to be proud. They want you to acknowledge them."

Surprised, he spun on his foot, turning to see who it was. His shoulders relaxed, about to get into a fighting stance.

"Oh. It's you, Ishikawa Chiharu. Back from your mission, I see. How was it, knowing that they were better than you? After all, you only got out of the academy by pulling a few strings and befriending the right people."

She smiled up at him perfectly, her eyes beaming, showing no sign of anger or annoyance. That was another irritating thing about the young girl. She was of the Ishikawa clan, and they specialized in academics and great thinkers. Many influential people of the time period were in some way related to the clan.

They were also taught at a young age how to smile. How to fake being happy to not let your enemy have the satisfaction of knowing that you truly cared about their comments.

No matter how much he riled the young kunoichi up, she just smiled at him in that Mona Lisa manner, never truly letting him acknowledge success. His mother had tried to instill in him the same practice as Chiharu had gone through, but he had put his foot down firmly, too engrossed in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu to even think about intelligence.

She was like a porcelain doll. Her voice was sweet and soft, exactly how you'd expect a female of her appearance's words to be, and she said things clearly, articulating everything. Her skin was pale and soft, her eyes large and expressive, her hair perfectly tamed, and her expression delicate and unmarred. She wore a velveteen-looking dress, with shining golden buttons, the ruffles at the bottom and her collar white lace.

That was why he had tried to discourage his student Yukiko from wearing dresses. She resembled the older woman, actually, by quite a bit. They had the same eyes, but the hair shade was different. But still, you had to wonder. Yukiko, read as Snow Child. Chiharu, read as One Thousand Springs. They were pretty much the exact opposite, once you thought about it. He had inquired with the Hokage to see if the girl was related or part of the Ishikawa clan. He had told him no, and in strict confidence, that she was an Otonashi.

They were two wildly different clans, in that the Otonashi were proud and unwavering, fierce and beautiful fighters. The Ishikawa were humble and intelligent. But the thing that was similar between them was their kekkei genkai. In fact, so similar that they had reason to suspect the two were somehow once interrelated in some way or another.

Actually, the shopkeeper from earlier, Teguchi Naho? She had once been part of the Ishikawa, but had defected and become a civilian, or so she said.

Damn it! These clan politics and bloodline issues were giving him a giant headache. Everyone was somehow interrelated through this marriage or that contract, or something!


End file.
